Doubt is the devil

 Oooohhhh fuck. What have I done? I'm sitting at my new favorite coffee shop in Madison staring at the comments and likes on a Facebook post I put up just barely two hours ago and a tidal wave of fear and doubt is sitting at the table next to me preparing to leap over and wash me out to sea. It took months to prepare myself to write the damn post and then I wrote and rewrote the thing over and over for literally 6 days. You'd think I thought I was creating an Earth or something. Forgive me if that joke falls flat or is just a little too far over the line. Anyhow...

I've read posts where folks say something like "....so, I did a thing:" Well, I too, did a thing. I decided I'd offer to show folks how to play guitar and for some reason I'm sitting here drinking too many free refills almost dreading that decision having just now decided I'm going to fuck it up. How can I fuck it up, you ask? Well, maybe I have absolutely no actual reason or way to answer that but Todd, the asshole who lives in my head, is positive I'm going to ruin someones life, as well as the next 3 generations they're responsible for, by taking any kind of step towards any kind of anything. This is another day in the life of Josh. By the way, Todd is me. He's my own personal Tyler Durden. I named him Todd because back when I decided to name that shit bag voice in my head I'd just watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Todd & Margo. Todd resonated with me. And right now Todd's got me convinced this was a terrible idea but really, I know it's not. I mean, it might not be a great idea but it sure as hell isn't like a 145% kind of bad idea. 

So, I'm going to dump this coffee and take a walk. The lake is nearby and and it's beautiful outside. Maybe I need to not think for a little while. Maybe look about 2mm outside my own mind and find something to be grateful for. I've got plenty of reasons to count my blessings. 

Plus, I need to decide what to do if anyone decides they want to talk about guitar and recovery. 

Hey there...What's up?

 Hey there, how the hell you doing? I'm pretty good, thanks.

I took a minute to look back at a few of the last posts on this blog and it's not that I'm thinking "what the hell was that(?)" as much as damn, "who the hell was that(?)". But then I remember that it was and is, in fact, me. And that's cool. I mean I'm pretty sure I'm the only one with the password and I've no reason to try to convince anyone, including myself, that it wasn't all that long ago I wasn't happy. At all. That said, I'm a lot happier these days....which is also cool. 

I'm back in Mexico and the weather has been almost annoyingly perfect. I've been writing and recording here in my little makeshift studio and it's been great. It's supposed to rain a bit today and if I'm being honest I'm excited to have a little change of pace. I'm kinda like my take on the weather in that if I don't have some shit days I come to take the good ones for granted. You can't have the highs without the lows and you can't have a rainbow without a little rain. That's a an excerpt from a song I wrote with some friends one time in the diner at the Holiday Music Motel while drinking bourbon at about 2 or 3AM. Or maybe it was PM and at that point I didn't much care because it was all the same. At that point I was emotionally flatlined and spending every bit of currency, emotional and monetary, I had on keeping it that way. Looking back, however, I realize that it wasn't only currency I was spending and that I was, in fact, leveraged to the hilt with everyone and every relationship I was blessed to have though I absolutely didn't see it that way. And if I'm being honest, again, I also didn't realize I was still taking advantage of that line of credit long after I officially sobered up. Even though I was waking up without a whiskey hangover I was still getting hammered on self pity every single day for quite a while. For years really. Apparently I had to work out some shit I'd been avoiding for a really, really long time. And I'm still working it out and I'll likely be working it out for the rest of my life and that, is also cool. Because everybody is working shit out, or has shit to work out and it's just that we all come to the realization that we have shit to work out at different points in our lives. Because we're all beautiful little fucking snowflakes and you guessed it...that's cool. I'm pretty sure I stole the beautiful little fucking snowflakes part from Gary John Bishop but I digress....

Back in the day I would ask my wife to proofread pretty much all of the blog posts I'd put up for public consumption.  I'd say something like I wanted to make sure the spelling and punctuation was good or that I wanted to make sure I'd gotten all the pertinent details in or my favorites, that I wasn't being too long winded or wasn't swearing too much. That was all bullshit and what I was really looking for was a slice of validation, no matter how big or small, because I couldn't bare to actually be honest or put myself out there to people, or myself, without first having somebody tell me it was ok. But this is gonna be just me from now on. It's not that I don't value the shit out of her opinion, because I totally do, but you know what...she's busy. She's a successful and fabulously driven women who's got her own shit going on and I'm a big kid who can cross my own I's and dot my own T's. 

You might imagine I've been reading a bunch of self-help, doing 12-step stuff, doing 12-step adjacent but not really 12-step stuff, seeing a therapist, hanging out with a support group, listening to podcasts, meditating, journaling, doing psychedelics and all the other things some people might have to do to get their feet on a solid path but hey, that's cool, because I have. I've been standing up and I've been falling down. Over and over,  all over the place. Strikes and gutters, they're all part of the game. Today, I got back up and that's totally fucking cool. 

Oh, music news! I've got some new songs coming pretty soon and, crossing my fingers here, they're gonna be on a slice of vinyl. There'll also be shows going up soon at www.joshharty.com and I've also got some other news concerning a little workshop I'm putting together but that'll be in the next episode. 

Until then, be cool.

Josh

p.s. Next time, maybe a few less swears... maybe.

A Boiling Point

 You ever just not know where to begin and every second you don't do something the knot in your stomach gets tighter and the lump in your throat nearly explodes? You've realized you've not replied to a thousand emails too many and the list of people you haven't called back is so deep in the weeds you're gonna need napalm to clear the mess. As of writing this I assure you all of this is true on my end and more. In fact, I kid you not, in the last 3 sentences I've gotten 3 text messages from both of the afore mentioned shit shows and sure, it doesn't have to be this way but try saying that to me right now...I fucking dare you. 

On my best days I'd take a few breaths, do 100 pushups, or maybe even throw 20 pounds of ice in a bathtub full of cold water and work it out that way but this isn't one of those days. Far from it. And to be honest I don't know why. Today isn't necessarily any shittier than others but for some reason it's different. Maybe because in my mind the days are supposed to be getting better. The self help books say as much and the people at the meetings keep telling things are going to turn around. Maybe I'm keeping too close an eye on the current state of my life like watching a pot and waiting for it to boil. Isn't that a strange comparison to make? Waiting for my life to boil....

Perhaps now would be an appropriate time to kick in a little context. My name is Josh, I'm an alcoholic. Words I've been repeating to random groups of strangers and friends for about 3 months now. Actually, 3 months exactly and I've got the chip to prove it. Strangely, and poetically at the same time, that 3 month date falls exactly 3 months shy, to the day, of what would have been the 5 year anniversary of when I'd thrown in the bar towel. One might consider it coincidence but I don't think so. I'm fairly certain the subconscious Josh had that planned and had been doing so for about 4 years and 9 months. Dick. Anyhow, yes I'm in the program and finally accepting a few things with one of them being I'm not alright. I mean, I'm fine and good and all that but I've got some issues that absolutely need some attention and a good deal of maintenance. It's just that I'm impatient and today my impatient meter is off the charts. That's ok. It's bedtime and I can turn the engine off and let it cool. Nothing needs to boil tonight. 

UNO & ICE

 My brother and his wife have been visiting us for the past few days and despite the shitty weather, we've had a great time. Thanks to a borrowed TV and a half enclosed back porch we've been able to entertain ourselves and stay dry when dryness was preferred. In between downpours we've strolled La Quinta for gelato,  discovered the next big Skynard cover band, and took a tour of the ancient Maya ruins at Coba. We even had to pleasure of meeting some of Quintana Roo's finest when they searched our car at a roadblock out in the middle of the jungle. I've enjoyed being able to bust out new personal commentary material as family are typically some of the only people on the planet who are able to understand that shit. 

In all the time we've spent in the Yucatan I've never seen more than 2 or 3 hours of continual rain at one time. Until the past 4 days, that is, as it feels like we've been transported to England on a wet spring day. Christmas on the beach doing beach stuff became Christmas in the apartment with UNO. Some alliances were maintained and others were born. Much shit was talked and many laughs were had. Jess, my wife and almost supernatural representative of all things calm, cool, and collected, now wishes to be referred to as Flash the UNO ninja and won't hesitate to throw a reverse or a +4 new color card on anyone who gets in her way of game domination. 

Fast forward to New Years Day. Feliz Anos, 2023!

I've been planning this day since the end of 2019 but if I'm being honest, I don't know exactly what I was doing on New Years Day 2020. I know I was at home in Wisconsin with my wife and not nursing a holiday hangover for the first time since high school but I'm not sure what we did. I imagine there was some laughing about the lack of a headache along with hopeful planning for the year ahead and most likely there were pancakes. 

This year, this morning, I woke up just after sunrise to the sounds of parties still partying down the street and all across the neighborhood. But they weren't the drunken revelry kinds of parties that so often go along with New Years, they were the more tranquil kind; friends hanging out with friends and making the most of the time they've been given. Or so it seemed, though I know, judging by the mezcal bottles everywhere, it was a multi-sided night of partying. I walked through downtown to the beach where I had to maneuver around groups still howling at the moon and a few who had howled too hard. I met with a group of folks who had made different choices last night and this morning and together we took turns sitting in tubs of ice water measuring about 3 degrees celsius. 

This was my 4th cold bath and I managed to get my hands in for about half of my time in the ice. It's getting better and my focus is starting to come into focus. The water is beginning to hurt in a more manageable way and my breath is becoming steady and easier to take. For 3 1/2 minutes I have one sole purpose: to get through 3 1/2 minutes submerged in almost freezing water. 

I didn't have a photo of me in the ice, so here's one of Jess. She makes it look easy

The end of a 30 year cycle

 I've never really been one to really savor accountability so I'm not going to say anything about making it a habit to write at this time everyday. But, as it's the second day in a row I've found myself sitting here writing at about the same time let's simply say that I'm doing it again today. Tomorrow....who knows. 

It's pretty windy today and my volcano friend never really made much of an appearance. I suppose everyone needs some time to themselves now and then, right? Hell, I've taken the last few years to myself and it's only recently I've started to poke my head back out in public a little. Sure, we had a global pandemic and we all hid away by government decree for a spell but I was glad to hide. I wanted to hide. I had to hide. I'd just gotten sober which was a bit more of an undertaking than I'd expected and then my Dad died (Covid). My Mom followed suit just over a year later. I pretty much welcomed the forced seclusion of the lockdown. Anyone who knows me knows I can be aloof and a bit of a space cadet sometimes but this was different. Everything and everyone outside of my house represented a danger zone in my not so balanced head. Rather than taking a few days to return a phone call or a text, I'm still making amends with friends 3 years later for unreturned messages, missed hangouts and awkward conversations. And at $0.25 a minute, which is the current rate here in Central America,  that gets a bit pricey. So if you're one of those friends and you happen to be reading this please accept my apology or simply know the next time I see you it'll be a lot less weird. My astrologer tells me I'm rounding a corner and have just ended a 30 year cycle and this next one is going to be something for which I've been preparing my whole life. So watch the fuck out people. Here I come....

 Anyway, I digress. The volcano has been shrouded in clouds all day. At one point earlier there was hardly a separation between the water and the pink/blue outline that is Tolimon. Even now the only way to see where the water ends is by watching the paths of the lanchas and they even seem to be battling the fog as they're all using the same stretch of water near the shore regardless of which direction they happen to be going. I could have slept a little longer this morning but the dogs were barking and that dark roast coffee was calling me. I got up to brew only to find the coffee grinder didn't actually work. Thank whomever for years of having to make do I found the blender and managed to get something in between a course and not so course grind that seemed to hold the water long enough to make coffee. Most of my mornings for the last while I've spent drinking coffee, writing in my journal and listening to Olafur Arnalds: an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist I discovered last year when I Googled classical music and trance/electronic. I'd gotten into trance music after going to a trance party in the Costa Rican jungle and dropping acid after a week long silent meditation retreat and I figured someone out there must have combined trance and classical as they both evoked a similar vibe in my head. But Olafur Arnalds, check him out. 

Now, I don't want to make excuses and I don't want to apologize even though they're things at which I'm really good. I've had years of practice. In fact, I've depended on them both for survival most of my adult life but the relationship has ended. I mentioned previously this getting sober bit and to be honest I've hardly talked to anyone about it because I absolutely refuse to preach or proselytize. Talking about it has seemed self indulgent, whiny, and pretty much unnecessary. But that said, I realized that I was on fire and not in a way like I was on a hot streak and unstoppable. Quite the opposite. I was burning to the ground and had been for a some time and thanks to the grace of the universe and my wife I was able to put the flames out before being totally reduced to ash. If anyone reading this wants to talk please reach out. I'm glad to share. 

So here I am in Guatemala blessed beyond measure, learning about the culture, learning to speak Spanish and relearning how to love music. I'm also learning a lot about stray dogs and hostel kids, both of which are very abundant here. They both bark all night but sometimes the dogs are super useful and form a great barrier between us and creepy dudes down by the boat dock. The kids, they just make a lot of noise down at the Free Cerveza Hostel.

Coffee & Volcanos

 It's the 24th of October, 2022 and writing the date reminds me that it's my sister's Birthday and I need to reach out. Excuse me one second. Alright, mission accomplished. So I'm sitting in a house on the shore of Lake Atitlan in central Guatemala, it's somewhere in the 70's and the sun is still shining. I say still because if I've learned nothing else in the last couple weeks or so it's that it will rain today. The sun comes up around 5:45am and makes way for a calm morning with coffee, some journaling and a little guitar. The lake is typically calm and serene until about now, 2:15pm, when you can see the waves start to pick up a bit and the lanchas (boat taxis) start to run a little slower. The rain won't last long, just enough to cool things down and give the scenery a little drink. The volcano I have coffee with and watch appear out of the dark every morning is starting to fade into the clouds and the banana trees are starting to sway in the breeze. I read that back to see how many spelling errors I made and all I can think is man, I'm the luckiest fucker alive. 

We caught a lancha this morning over to San Marcos, a few villages to the west, and grabbed a few groceries as well as a waffle and some hot cocao at the Circles Cafe. We can take a tuk tuk here in Santa Cruz up the hill into the main village for necessities but the selection is a lot better in San Marcos and we even have the option of buying a 50Q bag of weed off Harry at the boat dock. Harry is the name I gave him the first time we met when he said we'd have to "hurry" and I mistook him for saying his name was Harry. I think he was wanting to hurry as there was a cop on the dock. The same cop who was there today. I can only assume Harry and the cop have an arrangement worked out in order for business to be conducted right there in the open and he only wanted to hurry the first time as it was the weekend and I wasn't the only tourist he wanted to talk to. Anyway, we didn't get any smokeables but we did find some nice avocados, a ripe pineapple and a red pepper. I also scored huge with some dark roast coffee beans and a fresh loaf of German style seed bread and let me tell you in a world of tortillas, a good bread find is good. Really good. 

As for the rest of the day Jess has some prep work to do for a busy work day tomorrow. I'm going to finish writing this blog and then I'll make some ginger tea, maybe toast up some of that bread and work on a new song. Once evening rolls around we'll make some dinner, light a fire and put some music on. I've really been enjoying the new Tina Dico record, Bitte Sma Ryk, and try as I might I haven't worn it out quite yet. Thank you Mark Whitcomb for the recommendation. As for that new song part...it's been a long time. To be honest I'm not sure I've had a whole lot of interest in writing for a while. If I'm truly being honest, I'm not certain I've had much interest in playing music at all. For a long time. But, that volcano is a persuasive friend and if nothing else I have time. Lots of time. More now that I don't drink. In fact, it's been a little more than 3 years since I did and come to think of it that was probably around the time I last wrote on this blog. I've been pretty quiet about the topic and perhaps it's about time to share a little. But for now, we just caught a scorpion in the bathroom and I'm a little freaked out so I'm gonna go get loaded on pineapple. By the way, 50Q is about $7USD....

Not exactly a typical week.

Good morning and greetings from Marquette, MI.

Why am I in Marquette, MI you ask? Well, I just so happen to be on my honeymoon due to having gotten married last weekend to the lovely Jess Parvin, my partner and co-conspirator of the last 10 1/2 years. Why so long you ask? Well, I have no answer for that one...other than a mere oversight. But it's been officially remedied. Fixed. The knot has been tied and I couldn't be happier.

The signing of the license!

On the first leg of our trip we met up with Sims & Maggie from Harmonious Wail at their lovely cabin in the woods waaaay up in the U.P.. It's so far out there it was lucky we happened to see them parked at a local smoked trout stand on the way so we followed them. Otherwise, we'd still be looking for their place. On an important side note, Sims officiated our wedding! After that we attended a friends wedding in Copper Harbor which was beautiful. We did some hiking up rather large hills, sang songs, and paid $3.50 for a gallon of gasoline. That said I was given the opportunity to pump the gas from an old school pump with the rolling analog numbers beside two fire trucks with the lights on and a half dozen working fireman and a Sheriff's deputy. They were all there due to a gas spill that had just happened so the whole crew was out. They said a whole 2 gallons had inadvertently been spilled. Oh, the horror! 

Jess and Amy

On the other side of life, I'm getting ready to head to NERFA in November. That's the Northeastern Regional Folk Alliance in case you didn't know. I've been wanting to attend this conference for some time and this year I have a showcase so off we go. We're also wrapping the planning for the Spring 2019 UK/EU tour which will begin in mid March. We'll be announcing more fall dates soon so keep an eye out at www.joshharty.com and I'll also be posting more here.

Alright, I'd best get to work a little bit before we head out. Hope you're all keeping well, take care.

Josh

P.S. We also bought a house. So that's pretty cool. It's a fixer upper, but it's our fixer upper.

Random this & thats.

The Van Morrison station on Pandora kicked off with Into the Mystic so I've got that going for me....which is nice.

I was looking through some photos this morning and it occurs to me that I've left a bunch of stuff from past tours out of the previous posts. So today is for random non sequiturs and photos and such.

At the moment we're in Dunedin, Florida. In past years we've spent a fair amount of time down here over the winter for the purpose of fixing up shitty houses and putting them back on the market in varying degrees of improved condition. This year we weren't able to find a house due to the market being on the mend so it's just a quick visit to work on our tan and then back to Wisconsin. Well, briefly back to Wisconsin before we head to Kansas City for the Folk Alliance International conference. We'll again be hosting the Wisconsin Room featuring a number of Wisconsin based artists along with some of our favorite non-Sconnies. Feel free to visit our website at www.wisconsinroom.org and in the event you'd like to make a donation to our room you can do that via a secure Paypal link!

Let's see, in other news, I've been recording a solo acoustic record in Milwaukee with Steve Hamilton at Making Sausage Studios. It'll be a collection of old songs that have all appeared on other records but all recorded as stripped down as possible. One guitar, one voice. Hopefully we should have that out  at the beginning of the summer but I'll keep the updates coming where that's concerned.

From the left, my J50, the Linus built OM28, Martin D28 and a Hummingbird...I think.


A while back I played a house concert in Nashville with my old pal Brooks West & Jeff Burke. Here's a photo with Jeff and Sarah Lou Richards. 

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I'm on wing duty. Better get crackin.
Thanks for checking in and we'll touch base again soon.
Josh

Sausage in a jar.

It's BB King this morning. Live at the Regal.

There is just a week left on the Songs & Whispers Circuit and in a way, BB King brought me here. Or that's what I'll tell myself. In reality it was Iceland Air and the German train line in conjunction with Hertz.

But...almost 15 years ago one Monday morning in late October I was sitting in my apartment at 910 North 7th St. in Fargo, ND drinking coffee and celebrating a recent breakup by listening to Live at the Regal. BB King was coming to town later in the week and the show was sold out (though, I couldn't afford a ticket even if they had been available). The phone rang and it was Deb Jenkins, a local promoter and venue owner. I'd been playing duo shows with a friend at her Full Circle Cafe for a while and was expecting to book another show. We did all sorts of covers from James Taylor, Marvin Gaye to Joni Mitchell. She asked me if I had 45 minutes of original material which I didn't. I had no original songs save for a bad blues riff I'd written in the key of A and an even worse half song I'd started after the breakup commenced. So of course I lied and said, "Sure". She asked if I'd be available to play a 45 minute opening set that weekend and apologized that it would only pay $50. I agreed and spent the next 4 days holed up in my apartment writing the songs that would end up as my first solo record Three Day Notice. And then on Friday night, with the first original songs I'd ever written/played in public, I opened for BB King.

Back to the current. Yesterday was a day off and and and it mostly didn't rain. We bought day passes for the tram and just bopped around Bremen. Maybe the 4th time we've bought tickets for the tram and yet again, nobody checked to see if we had tickets. Much unlike the time transit security threatened to kick Jess of a bus and fine her for stiffing the city of Birmingham out of a nickel (£0.05) by going an extra stop. We tried to find a taco joint. I mean we really gave it the ol' college try but we were denied. Again. We ended up at a little bistro place that served nachos con carne with Käse au gratin. Or melted cheese. They were Doritos bits (maybe 6 whole chips) smothered in cheese and a bit of chili. No utensils provided so a difficult finger food. 

The night before was a duo gig with my circuit partner Pi Jacobs at Katocomben in Achim. Great venue and a wonderful crowd. I'm learning that the Germans are a very honest people. Take for example the fella who came up after the show and says, "your new album is Holding On, right?". Yes I say. "I don't like it....the show I liked, but not the record...too country." It's a bit different from my Midwest upbringing where you're taught that if someone makes lunch and it's terrible, you smile, eat, say how great it was and then complain to all your friends later...in a blog. Midwest nice. Oh, and they made us a sausage dinner. 

What we hoped for.

What we got. 

Pi Jacobs at Katocomben

Tonight I play at a church about a mile away from the flat. Best commute of the tour so far. 

Josh

Zweigelt, Käse, & Vollkornbrot. Oh my!

It's Ry Cooder for the morning soundtrack and I'm pretty pleased with this decision. 

Last night was a show at one of the best known venues in Oldenburg: Listaff. A great room with a nice stage and cabaret seating. I didn't get a photo but the huge chalk diagram on the wall depicting the proper construction of a hamburger was pretty fabulous. Ky, the owner and chef really gave me the hard sell to try one of the hamburger delights on the menu but due to the huge Greek lunch earlier, I had to decline. We've come to the conclusion that Greek food is to Germany as Mexican food is to the States...you'll find a Taverna nearly anywhere and they're often inexpensive and pretty damn good. Anyhow, the show was good but with a beer festival going on a mile away the competition for audience was a difficult one. 

The night before we were at the Syker Vorwerk Gallery in Syke. That's pronounced Zeek-a. The Gallery was built in the late 1600's and the acoustics were amazing. There was a sculpture exhibit by Louis Niebuhr on and his work is great. The crowd was amazing and I was joined for a couple songs by a local drummer. Before the show we hung out with the director, Nils, and had the usual German snack of brown bread, cheese and prosciutto. Not just brown bread but thick, heavy, seedy awesome brown bread. A few years back in France we met a fella named Jonosh from Germany who was staying with Fabrice, a French show promoter who put on a great theatre show in Changy. Janosh had had it with French baguettes and talked about how he couldn't wait to get home to have some real bread. I get it now. 

Syker Vorwerk show

The night before that was at....I have no idea. It's starting to blur. By the time this 2 month Euro tour wraps there will have been nearly 60 shows. In any case, the night before was in Germany and I know I didn't get nicked by a speed camera. That was earlier in the week on the way back from Hanover. KulturPalast Linden in Hanover was great. A bit smokey and the Pho joint next door closed during sound check leaving me on the opposite side of the venue having Greek again but in the end it was a wonderful evening. Well, until I caught the bright red side-of-the-road flash on my way out of town going about 60 as the limit went from 70 to 50. Oh well, not the first time that has happened and I'm sure it will be cheaper than last year in Amsterdam running late to the airport (traffic/construction and a BMW)....yikes. 

Oh, we bought bikes. 15 Euros a piece. You get what you pay for but it's faster than walking. At least it's faster when the tires don't blow out. Yesterday we had a wheel malfunction and the bike mechanic seemed appalled at the condition of our bikes. We politely informed him that we only paid 15 a piece and that they only need to operate for another 10 days, please just fix the tire. He said we'd paid too much, washed his hands as though the bike had some communicable disease and said he couldn't replace the tube until the following evening. Today I'll go find some tools and fix it myself. I'm immune to the bike. 

our beautiful bikes

TGIF. Not that this really applies. Even remotely. 
Josh

Should have kept my mouth shut....

So it's 9:59am here in Bremen on Sunday the 15th of May. It's a day off and it's raining. I'm listening to Bach's Cello Suites 1-6 as performed by Ralph Kirshbaum.

When I was in middle school and into high school, like many people all around the world, I was a huge Garth Brooks fan. In retrospect that may be the beginning of my obsession with Oklahoma artists: J.J Cale, John Fullbright, John Moreland, Carter Sampson and so on. Anyhow, he had a tune on his first record called Unanswered Prayers and I assume you can deduce the gist of the song's meaning. Well, I asked for rain and it came along with a 25-30 degree temperature drop, hail and 30mph winds. Request granted and delivered in full on the day I had a show at a beach club where just the day and week before hundreds of people relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the scenery. All while getting ready for the annual kickoff for the Summer Concert Series at Sonnendeck in Dangast. While modest in numbers the crowd came and sat attentively in the near freezing semi outdoor concert area while occasionally being dripped on from the rain coming through the roof. Thanks to the venue for the blankets! Hell, we even had an amazing rainbow as a stage backdrop twice during the show.

performing at Sonnendeck ("Sundeck") Beach Club

As a side note. On the way to Dangast I recall hearing a "tone" come from the car. It was the sound the car makes when it alerts you to a falling petroleum level. In layman's terms we were running out of gas. Well, it said we had 89 km to go until we were walking. That number began dropping drastically fast and soon we were sitting in front of a closed fuel station in a really small village that was preparing for the parade commencement to celebrate Pfingstmontag. Part of the Pentecost, I believe. This was an even worse time to experience a language barrier than earlier in the day when I got a haircut and ended up with the hipster/military-style look I'm currently sporting. Thankfully though, the good people of the town realized our plight and waved down Felix, the station owner, who opened the station long enough for us to pump 30 Euros worth of Super 95 allowing us to continue north to the Baltic. 

the parade just starting

As I mentioned it's a day off and I think we're going to check out the biggest flea market in Germany. We've heard rumors that we may find bikes that have "fallen off the truck" and are available at a steal of a price.

And we're off....
Josh

Praying for rain.

It's strange to think it's been ten years since I played regularly with Kelly Pardekooper. If anyone ever went to the Honk Tonk Tuesday sessions at Mickey's in Madison that was his brain child. We also played a handful of proper shows in and around Madison during the short time he lived there. He's an Iowa guy and a great songwriter. He has this tune called Pray for Rain we used to play sometimes and lately I've been thinking a lot about droughts. Not the typical farm related rain drought referred to in the song but the kind of audience drought we're seeing here in Germany. Why can't it just f*#@ing rain?

The shows have been cool but as I mentioned last time, it's been a rash of really nice weather here in Germany. And like the Irish say "make hay when the sun shines", the Germans do "make outside activities a crushing priority over going to some American dude's show that is only in town this one day all damn year"- Josh Harty. Patience is waning.

Hamburg government building

Take last night for instance: We arrived at the venue at the scheduled time of 5pm, 17:00, after spending a way too short time exploring a small slice of Hamburg only to be told the sound tech wouldn't be there until 6:30pm/18:30. So we left and found a little Greek joint to have dinner. We went back at 6:30 and were told we were still early...maybe 7pm/19:00. "Why don't you sit down and have dinner and a drink". Thanks but we already left an hour and a half ago and ate somewhere else. Fast forward to 7:55pm/19:55, 5 minutes before show time. "It doesn't look like anyone is going to come, it's just so nice outside...you should have a night off and take a wander around Hamburg". To which I said, "we'll hold out for a while and see if anyone shows up...you never know." Besides, we already had a short wander around Hamburg that we cut short as to be sure to arrive at 5.
8:45pm/20:45 rolls around and not a soul. Again, "you should go have a night off." We packed up and drove the 90 minutes back to Bremen listening to Billy Joel and Fleetwood Mack sandwiched in between German techno while the Audi's, BMW's, and Benz's went flying by at Mach 4 on the way home from their BBQ at the beach.

The gig the night before was semi-outdoors at the Hafen Casino and Truck Stop. A kind of hometown gig for Songs & Whispers as it was their first ever gig some years ago. It was a good time and we had a nice crowd. Tried schnitzel for first time and a curry sausage. There was a fella who was scolded and denied access to the show by the owner due to his propensity to steal things from the bar. Drinks out of the cooler. Salt shakers. He left and returned with a bottle of clear liquor and sat on the stoop across the narrow street and watched the show. He clapped early on all the endings but not for long as he needed his left hand to keep from falling off his perch.

Jess in a Hamburg central square

The Hafen Casino Truck Stop!

When in Germany, do as the Germans.

Tonight I'm off to Walsrode and it looks like they have a French menu. Forecast in sunny and warm all day. I'll bring something to listen to and my driving gloves for the trip back....

Josh

DISCLAIMER: Last nights venue was a wonderful place doing great things and the proprietor Tine was lovely. I only wish it had rained.

On a German Straße.

The trip to Bremen from Amsterdam was pretty uneventful. It was a bit longer than expected, though, and I was told that due to the train coming from Amsterdam the German authorities may have done a bit of inspecting before they let it come into Germany...aka they may have had some reason to think there could have been some illegal contraband on board. In any case, I made it to Budget to retrieve the trusty German chariot which strongly resembles a Ford Fiesta. It's not that festive.

This is the first extended German tour I've had and it's been organized by Songs & Whispers. They're a Bremen based promotion and booking company and have been pleasure to work with so far. They've provided a flat for us to use while we're in Germany and I must say it's nice to unpack my suitcase for a little while. We're sharing the flat, as well as a few shows, with LA based artist Pi Jacobs. My fears of her being a 20 something grunge rocking, whiskey fueled party hound were dashed, though, when she turned out to be perfectly pleasant and a fan of hummus and rice cakes.

Pi last night in Bremen

The first show was in a nearby town and Arne, the S&W rep we're working with, came along for the show. Well, I should say he offered to drive and I gladly took him up on the offer. We set up for the show and after sound check I ended up involved in an impromptu free style blues jam with a fella who was passing by. It was....interesting.

The following day on my way to Rostock I saw a Fiat Panda slide down the highway and directly into a steel barrier. Everyone was fine but as I do have a certain fondness for the Panda I was sad to see this particular one end it's tour of duty so flamboyantly and in front of a crowd. On the way back to Bremen the following day I saw a Mercedes on it's roof on the Autobahn near Lubeck. Like the previous day everyone appeared fine. I wasn't too sad about the Benz.

Nice scenery on the Autobahn

Rostock is a nice college town located on the Baltic Sea. Rostock is home to one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Rostock, founded in 1419. The weather was nice. I mean, really nice. And in northern Germany, which doesn't get many really warm days, when it's this nice people take to the harbor and their back yards. They'll also take to the sidewalk with a boom-box strapped to a wagon that's full of beer and hang out. Right there on the sidewalk. A kind of foot path jamboree. The great weather also means the average Rostockonian isn't likely to spend their evening inside listening to some dude they've never heard of. I played the show to a small but fantastic crowd who apparently had been busy texting their friends during the show. After I finished a group came in and said they were there for the show which led to a table side after show, show. Then more people showed up, and more.

Not much of a vegan menu

 




I'll get to last night and the screaming Turks in the lower flat in the next issue but for now, I've noticed that my socks don't match. This means I need to do laundry. Hopefully I won't run into the scary German woman who yelled at me about the trash in the trash bin yesterday....

Auf Wiedersehen,
Josh

Liberation Day

Today is Liberation Day in the Netherlands. A celebration of liberation from the Germans in 1945. It’s also Remembrance Day to remember those who have died in war. Much like Memorial Day in the States but I think more of the population in the Netherlands knows that it’s a holiday with a meaning and not just a day free from school and the bank or a reason to go boating and get loaded. At the gig last night I was told that at 8pm sharp there would be two minutes of silence and this was the case all across the Netherlands. Two minutes of silence in a huge room full of people next to another room full of people in a city like Amsterdam with everyone being silent. The sound of silence is amazing. As a side note, this was the only cool part of this particular gig. Note to self and others: Don’t play a bar gig on the eve of Liberation Day in the Netherlands. I imagine it’s not unlike playing Hooters on the 4th of July in Tampa. 

It’s about 10am on Zaagmolenstraat and Paul has just made coffee. He was in Ethiopia recently and brought back some beans and they're fantastic. His parents wind-up clock is ticking in the other room and occasionally you can hear a siren in the background. Aside of the sirens and the clock chimes at the top of the hour it’s pretty quiet. The apartment is small, coming in around 400 sq. ft. I’d imagine, but it’s perfect and about a 15 minute walk from the central train station. Jess and I stayed here for 3 days a couple of years back in December when it was full on Dutch winter. We stayed inside mostly, cooked and listened to nothing but Sam Cooke. 

This will be next year's tour car. 

Today there will be a brief gig with the Amsterdam Songwriters Guild at the Central Library and it will also be on Amsterdam FM. Fingers crossed. Tomorrow I’ll take the 9am train to Bremen, Germany where we’ll be based for the rest of the month. 25 nights straight, with a couple days booked in the afternoon and evening. I believe that’s a play out of the Brian Epstein rule book there. Wish me luck. 

10-4

Josh

A Day in the Life

We flew out of Dublin where to nobody’s surprise it was raining. But to be fair it had been raining everywhere in Europe. The night before was a nice show at the DC Music Club. I found out a few hours before the gig that the DC Club was the Dublin Conservative Club which was where the Music Lee series puts on shows. You rang a buzzer at the door, were rung in and would then proceed down the stairs, over the red carpet, past the mirrors and through the red velvet covered halls that led to the basement level bar and music room. There were snooker tables in the side room and a garden area around back that was visible to nobody outside. I had the feeling that if the show didn’t go well or didn’t draw a crowd I could be disappeared before I finished my post show Guinness. Luckily, I’m writing this….

We flew Aer Lingus to Amsterdam and I happily took a nap for the first part of the flight. I woke groggily and ordered a coffee from the attendant who magically appeared in the aisle and was quickly made aware that coffee on this flight was not free. 3 quid! I think the Aer Lingus folks have been hanging around the Ryan Air folks and the result does not favor the coffee dependent/loves the free stuff kind of traveler. At least it was real coffee and not instant. 

We arrived ahead of schedule at Schipol Airport and were greeted by a customs official who was much like the Honey Badger. He didn’t give a sh**. A lightning fast passport stamp and we were off to the Avis counter to retrieve the keys to a well worn Citroen C3…a step up from the quaint little C1. This car, though young in age, had clearly seen it’s fair share of tourists who were surprised at the manual shifting. This was made evident by the nearly non-existing clutch. We cruised up the A1 as fast as possible to Gronigen where we met up with Peter Mulvey and John Statz at the Rhythm & Blues Night. Peter’s agent couldn’t make it to the gig so Jess became his representation for the night…in that she made said claim (Peter said to do it) and we were given a free hotel room. BAM! 

The following day was a gig at Cafe de Amer in Amen.  Great gig with well over 100 of the best folks I’ve seen in a while. It was like negative quiet in that room. We even indulged in their famous meatballs at the break. It’s amazing what a little clove can do the meatball. If you’re into that sort of thing. Then we went to Hilversum and had a nice little rooftop concert with some friendly folks we met last year on a FreeBird Concert run. Thanks Christoff! Again, such lovely people to hang out with. Thank so much Linda!!

Jess is in Greece for a few days and I’m in Amsterdam for a couple shows with the Amsterdam Songwriters Guild. It’s sunny and warm and the gig tonight is a 10 minute walk. These people riding bikes while texting/smoking/rolling a smoke/drinking coffee/chatting over Facetime and avoiding the kids on their souped-up scooters will never cease to amaze me. It is one of the most most terrifying bits of clockwork action I've ever witnessed. 

Amen.

Josh

Rain and the Emerald Isle...

It's been a while since we've been to Ireland. The last time was 2 1/2 years ago when I drove to Stansted Airport and hopped a Ryan Air flight to Dublin without my guitar because Ryan Air sucks. I bought a seat for my guitar for 9 Pounds (same as my seat) but they said I'd have to pay an additional 50 because it fell under their musical instrument policy. Luckily this happened online before I left so I was able to scream at the computer and the Ryan Air guy I was chatting with and then call Roy at Ballymore Acoustic to see if I could use his guitar for the show that night. Anyhow, I arrived at the Dublin airport, fetched my Nissan Micra and headed to Ballymore Eustace. That night I shared a show with the lovely Amelia Curran, slept at Mag's B&B, was out the door by 9am the following morning and flew out of Dublin around 2pm...less than 24 hours after I'd arrived the day before. This time, we get 5 days.

Ballymore Acoutic Gigs take place at a great little pub called Mick Murphy's. It's an old pub and the owners live in the apartment attached to the pub which is accessed through a door behind the bar. The bartender can pour drinks and nip out back to still keep up with his favorite television program of the evening. The crowd was great and we even had someone who had driven 2 1/2 hours for the night. Thanks again Damian.

The next day we took a leisurely drive through the Slieve Bloom mountains, took a little hike and found a gigantic 5 meter tall fire place in the middle of nowhere. Sorry but this was an unfortunate time for my phone to have died leaving no ability to provide photo evidence. We also climbed the 2nd highest round tower in Ireland. 108 feet tall and built in the 12 century by Monks as a status symbol and also as a beacon for weary travelers to be able to find the monastery and a warm meal. Unfortunately Vikings could also see these towers and were wise to the fact monastery's and churches typically had a fair amount of gold and tithe money kicking around therefore making them an easily spotted target from miles away.

from atop the small but impressive Slieve Bloom Mountains

Jess at the top of the round tower in Kildare

the church in Kildare from atop the round tower

Yesterday was a day off. An off day. Believe it or not it rained for most of the day. Today we'll drive to Galway and you guessed it, it's been raining and is supposed to continue. Galway is a great city. I hope we find a fabulous umbrella store. Tomorrow we'll go to Dublin for the DC Music Club. I'll Tweet Bono later today to make sure he knows he's invited.

Chun do dheagh shlàinte, 
Josh
p.s. Still a bit melancholy...

Pollo Azul

We made it to Ireland, and as expected it's still beautiful here. The airport staff was friendly, the car hire folks were friendly, the woman at Tesco that sold us a SIM card was nice and helpful, and the woman at the checkout even informed us that the avocado I'd picked up was bruised and that I should go ahead and pick out a different one. All of this random kindness that is so typically Irish.

The VW Polo aka "pollo azul" 

I was going to write a blog post a few days back but to be honest I was pretty bummed out. And I figured there were enough sad laments floating around the internet concerning Prince that I didn't need to add another. But, I will still mention that I will most certainly miss the presence of somebody in the world of music that did things perfectly. Someone so committed to their craft and so focused and unwilling to not bend on the vision. Someone who was as generous as he was. An inspiration and so much more than a musician. Watch the video below.

The last few shows in the UK were wonderful. Liverpool Acoustic was brilliant and it was great to hang out once again with the Good Intentions. Matthews Street is home to the Cavern Club and the View Two Gallery and is a wild time after dark. Or maybe I'm just getting old? The following night at the Thimblemill Library in  Smethwick (Birmingham) was excellent. Thanks to Amit and Rich, Mellow Peaches, and Dan Hartland. Do yourselves a favor and check them out! Dan & Amit also have a fantastic radio show where they play music and argue a lot. 50 Miles of Elbow Room on Brum Radio. They play sweet jams and throw some good verbal punches. It's a great time.

Thimblemill Library in Smethwick

Tonight I'll head back to Mick Murphy's for a Ballymore Acoustic gig. It's been a few years and I'm excited to be back.

I'll be back in touch soon. take care and watch the Boss knock this one out of the park.

Josh

Greenwich Mean

Tour date: Thursday, April 21, 2016 approx. 3:45pm GMT

With only three days left of the UK leg of the tour, I'm again surprised at how quickly the month cruised by. Tonight in Leicester. At the moment we're hanging out in Appleby Magna and David Gray is picking his new Mandolin a bit.

Two nights ago was the Greystones in Sheffield and it was the third at-capacity crowd in a row! Once again I was able to fight off the urge to whip out the Def Leppard cover I keep telling myself I'm going to play one of these times. The night started out with M&J Blues and once again they were great. Mark Lyall is unmistakably one of the best players I've had the pleasure to meet in the last number of years and it's always great to him play. Next up was the Fargo Railroad Company and they joked a few times about their name being the reason they had gotten the gig (I'm sure you know I'm from Fargo), but I'd argue that it may be due to the great songs and the bands ability to be really good. But who am I. It was the 5th year in a row Craig with WagonWheel Presents has put on a show for me, the first actually being a Rod Picott show that I opened, and was once again a pleasure to work with him. Thanks again to Craig & Maggie for the fabulous hospitality!

Last night was in Nottingham at the Polish Eagle Club. The show was originally supposed to be at the Guitar Bar, but sadly they closed last month. On the bright side, Rob is still putting shows on and we had nice time. Mellow Peaches opened up the show and it was great to see Amit Dattani play again. This time he was with his co-conspirator Rich and they sounded great. Check them out if you get the chance.

Nottingham, I like that town. We had a nice walk around during the day and were able to catch the 4/20 rally in the market square. Any more time spent down wind of that crowd and I likely would have skipped the show to hang out at the chip shop.

Time to iron the shirt and go to sound check.
Josh
p.s. More photos on the next edition...

I Gotta wear shades

Holy shit those were some amazing shows. It’s kind of like being on a road trip a long way from home not knowing if you have enough money to get back. Then, you find a $100 bill on the ground and can rest easy because regardless of what the day/road throws at you from here on out, you know there’ll be fuel in the tank. That’s how these last shows in Scotland were and now the soul is full and the future is so bright I feel like I could quote Timbuk 3.

I just played a show at the Barry Mill in Carnoustie, Scotland. It’s an operating oat mill that dates back to 1539 and is run by a delightful Irish ex-pat named Kerrin. The room was packed almost beyond capacity and even though it was a bit chilly we had a fabulous time. Truth be told, it was cold. But who cares, it was a blast and we had space heaters and my guitar stayed in tune. We sang, we laughed and we shivered but for the first time on this tour we didn’t talk about Trump. And I’m OK with that. 

Barry Mill (photo by Alan Rollo)

The Barry Mill- originally built in 1500's but rebuilt after fire in 1800's

Barry Mill

Next up was The Newport. Just across the 2 mile long Tay bridge from Dundee is the lovely little village of Newport. The view across the river was stunning and the sunset couldn’t have been better. The Seven Sons kicked off the show with a wonderful set that included what could have been the best version of “If I Needed You” I’ve ever heard. Again we had a capacity crowd and the energy in the room was incredible. Even the occasional dub step creeping in from next door was fun as it only added to ambiance. 

The Newport- nice view, huh?

A million and more thanks to Andy & Natasha, Hypercoaster Music, for the shows, their hospitality and their friendship. Gary, Alan, and Zeb it was great to hang out with you. Oh, Andy & Tash, sorry again about that little round-about debacle on the way to the Alibob…..

Now Sheffield. 

take care and keep on

Josh